Stanely Kubrick's Films



In all of Stanley Kubricks films there is a recurring theme which is man's inhumanity to man. The common similarity that stands out to me is that the lead character is always male and rather difficult to like and usually has some sort of inner conflict to address, a good example of this is Alex from ‘Clockwork Orange’ who is a troubled youth. There's always a bathroom scene and a character point of view scene. Stanley creates this kind of repetition as it makes him films familiar almost like a trade mark so the audience is aware of his work; it also makes his films distinctively stand out. The credits used at the end of his films tend to be a slide show, with the exception of the shining, this all links in with the theme of his film creating an image for himself

  Kubrick had a vision for the future, and directed the film to match his exotic style of art, he lets this theory shine through in his work constantly experiment with different scenery and costumes to portray his obsession with the future as well as his expectations on how this is going to pan out. This allows Kubrick to express himself through his films giving the audience a better understanding of what he is about. Kubrick believed a movie should be viewed as if it were a painting so he used strong visual experience to tell his story, while rarely relying on dialog. His use of classical music is also consistent, or simple computer noises, which helps the audience focuses on what events are taking place, not only does it bring passion to the scene but it adds to the intensity of the visual rather than distract from it. The innocence of classical music is also juxtaposed which the sick events that are taking place, again ‘Clockwork Orange’ is a good example of this especially the scene when the ‘droogs’ are abusing their victims the classical music almost softens the harsh blow to the viewers. Though the audio is a great part of the movies it brings attention to the visual experience, Kubrick’s most established influence.

  It is very hard to put a common theme on all of his films together yet there are certain similarities between specific films, a good example of this is ‘Valhalla Rising’ and ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ which both have very little dialog. For example Valhalla Rising’s main character is mute, while very little of ‘2001’ is human conversation. Kubrick uses many slow pans and cameras locked on one location with very slow movement within the frame; this is to create suspense for the audience so they remain hooked another technique of Kubricks to add to his familiarity. An example of this is the scene in space, with the shuttle slowly rotating as the camera pans very slowly through space ‘Valhalla Rising’ also uses a similar technique. Kubrick's films are characterized by a formal visual style and have a meticulous attention to detail; this is where the weirdness is recognized in his films and also where Kubrick is able to add his own recognized individuality to his films, which the audience craves. His films are frequently described as ‘slow and methodical’ and are often perceived as a reflection of his obsessive and perfectionist nature.